Having gone undefeated in the ring, Floyd Mayweather Jr. reportedly is exploring a move to the oval.
The former boxing champion’s auto racing team is in “advanced discussions” to partner with Spire Motorsports for an eventual move into NASCAR team ownership, according to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern. If successful, Mayweather would be the second mega-superstar athlete to cross over into NASCAR this year, after former NBA star Michael Jordan announced the launch of the new 23XI Racing group.
The Money Team Racing, which is headlined by Mayweather but is operated by outside business partners, reportedly tried to enter the sport earlier this year, but were outbid for the available team charters. If TMT Racing entered the sport next season, it would apparently partner with Spire before competing full-time in 2022 under one of Spire’s three current charters.
As with the rest of the world, it’s an uncertain time for NASCAR. The sport is set to begin next season with limited fan capacity at the Daytona 500 due to COVID-19 restrictions, and will be without seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who retired from full-time NASCAR racing this year. NASCAR brass also will need to tread lightly around the return of driver Kyle Larson, who was suspended last season for shouting a racial epithet during a simulated race.
With all that going on, it’s little wonder NASCAR will heavily push fan-favorite Chase Elliott’s quest to defend his Cup championship or Bubba Wallace’s long-overdue ascension into quality equipment.
